HMS Orion (1854)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Orion.

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Orion
Ordered
  • 30 March 1848 (sailing ship)
  • 30 October 1852 (screw propelled)
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Laid down1 February 1850
Launched6 November 1854
CompletedBy 29 March 1855
Out of service1861
Honours and
awards		Baltic 1855
FateBroken up in 1867
General characteristics as ordered
Class and type80-gun Hood-class second rate
Tons burthen2,600 1/94 bm
Length
  • 198 ft (60 m) (gundeck)
  • 161 ft 0.75 in (49.0919 m) (keel)
Beam55 ft 9 in (16.99 m)
Depth of hold23 ft 4 in (7.11 m)
Complement720
Armament
General characteristics as built
Class and type91-gun Hood-class second rate
Tons burthen3,202 45/94 bm
Length
  • 238 ft (73 m) (gundeck)
  • 200 ft 10.75 in (61.2331 m) (keel)
Beam55 ft 9 in (16.99 m)
Depth of hold24 ft (7.3 m)
Propulsion
  • Sails
  • 2-cyl. (70¾in diam., 3½ft stroke) horizontal single expansion trunk engine
  • Single screw
  • 600 nhp
  • 2,329 ihp
Speed11.45 kn (13.18 mph) (under steam)
Complement720
Armament

HMS Orion was a 91-gun Hood-class second rate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1854 and was the second of six ships to carry the name.[1]

Service

Orion was ordered as an 80-gun second rate on 30 March 1848 and laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 1 February 1850. With the advent of steam propulsion in warship design, Orion was reordered on 30 October 1852 to a new design, to incorporate a steam engine and a propeller. She was launched on 6 November 1854 and completed by 29 March 1855, with sea trials beginning on 24 February 1856 from Devonport.[2]

Part of the Baltic Fleet off Cronstadt, ships L-R; Orion; Du Quesne; Royal George; Tourville, Flag Ship of Admiral Penaud. Illustrated London News 1855

Orion was commanded from her commissioning until late 1857 by Captain John Elphinstone Erskine. She took part in the Crimean War in 1855, serving in the Baltic Sea. On 23 April 1856 she was present at the Fleet Review at Spithead.[2] For her service in the Baltic she was awarded the battle honour Baltic 1855.[1]

She sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at Havana on 14 July 1857 from Port Royal, and then departed for Halifax on 16 July 1857. She then sailed to the Mediterranean Sea in 1860.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b BritainNavy.co.uk: HMS Orion of 1854
  2. ^ a b c "Pbenyon.plus.com: Naval Database - Orion 1854". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2011.